


Your Voice

by watermelonriddles



Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: soft Rio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 13:14:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18344405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watermelonriddles/pseuds/watermelonriddles
Summary: When Rio shows up at Beth's house to talk business he ends up arriving in the middle of an argument and finds himself talking to Sadie instead.





	Your Voice

**Author's Note:**

> So, a couple of days before 2x05 aired I had a dream very similar to this and then after the content with Sadie in that episode, I knew I had to finish writing this and get it up :)

Rio was stood outside the backdoor of Beth’s house when he heard a voice he didn’t recognise. While the voices inside weren’t raised, there was clearly an argument taking place and, before he had time to do much of anything, the backdoor opened. He just about stepped aside as a kid he didn’t know brushed past him and disappeared into the garden.

With the door still ajar, he took the chance to let himself in. Beth and Ruby were stood on one side of the island counter and were the only ones to look at him as he entered. Annie, on the other hand, was sat at the island counter, her head down against the surface.

“This is not a good time,” Beth commented, already making her way over to him.

“Yeah.” He nodded his head a little. “I figured.”

“Whatever it is, it’s going to have to wait,” Annie said, waving him off.

Rio raised a brow and looked expectantly to Beth for more of an explanation. “They’re not really talking right now,” she offered up.

“Right, right.” It wasn’t much of an explanation but there wasn’t really much room to pry further before the three of them jumped back into discussing what had happened.

“Everything will be fine,” Ruby said as she came around the island counter.

“It’s been more than two weeks” Annie groaned. “When I messed up the home visit, she was quiet and reserved but not like this.”

“It’s just a shock,” Beth tried to reassure. “Give her a minute.”

While the three of them talked, Rio glanced out the window. It was getting dark but he could see Sadie sat on the grass, picking at it. While the others were talking and trying to reassure Annie, he noticed the chocolate bar sat on the island counter.

“Does she like chocolate?” Rio asked.

All three of them stopped talking and Annie looked at him suspiciously. “Yeah… Sure?”

Without a word, Rio grabbed the chocolate bar from the counter, ignoring Annie’s protests that she was planning to eat it, and then moved over to the fridge. He grabbed two cans of coke and, without even a glance back, he walked outside.

He went straight up to Sadie. “Mind if I sit?”

She looked up and gave him a curious look. “Who are you?”

“Rio.” Suddenly, Beth appeared beside him and he had to restrain from smiling. “I was just telling Sadie here that I’m a family friend.”

Beth looked a little unsure but eventually nodded and offered up a smile to Sadie. “Yeah, that’s right. We just thought…”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Sadie said.

“Well,” Rio started, passing her one of the cans which she took. “I don’t care if we talk about it.”

Sadie seemed to think about that for a moment before she shrugged and went back to picking at the grass. “You can sit down then.”

Rio turned to Beth and offered up a smile. It took a moment but eventually, she relented. “ _Fine._ We’ll be inside if you need anything.”

He waited for her to walk away before he sat down on the grass beside Sadie. At first, neither of them said anything. She opened her can and drank from it, continuing to pick at the grass in-between and he simply set his can down on the ground beside him. He could see Beth, Annie, and Ruby watching them from the window but he made a point to not acknowledge them.

When it was clear Sadie wasn’t going to say anything, he opened up the chocolate bar and broke off a square. As he ate it, he noticed her eyeing up the chocolate. Without a word, he passed it to her.

“Thanks,” she said as she took it and broke off a piece of her own. “I know you want to talk about it.”

“Nah. I don’t.”

“So you just want to sit out here with me for what? The fun of it?”

“It’s quiet out here.” Rio laid back on the grass, putting an arm behind his head like a pillow.

“I don’t want my family to fall apart.” When she looked at him, he motioned with his hand for her to continue. “My parents started seeing each other again but my dad is married. Now Nancy is pregnant and everyone is hurt.”

“That’s a pretty tricky situation.”

“I don’t want to pick a side.” She broke off another piece of chocolate and ate it. “But I’m going to have to, right?”

Rio sat up again. He drew his knees up and rested his arms on them. “You’re how old?”

“Eleven,” she supplied. “Nearly twelve.”

“I’m gonna be honest with you, the adults will probably try to make all of the decisions.” When he looked over, Sadie had hung her head in disappointment. “ _But_ you should still tell them what you want. Make it clear that you ain’t gonna choose, that you want to see all of them. You did nothing wrong so make them understand that you don’t deserve to get the poor end of the deal. Your voice is important.”

She seemed to think about that for a moment. “Before I found out, I kept seeing Nancy and right after I found out, I was allowed to spend time with her.”

“See? It might not be so hard to make it work.” Rio nudged her gently with his elbow until she looked at him. “It might be broken for a while but it’s still a family, alright? You gotta make a decision. You either let the pieces fall apart or you fight to keep the pieces in one area, regardless of whether they’re broken or not.”

Sadie nodded a little, looking much more determined. “I want to fight.”

“Good.”

They shared a smile and for the first time, Sadie seemed to really pay attention to him. “I like your shirt.”

Rio looked down at himself and then to her. He had on a plain, maroon coloured button up that he didn’t wear too often while Sadie’s was bright blue and checked. “Mine not a bit plain for you?”

She shook her head. “I like the colour. It looks comfortable too.”

“I’m sure your aunt is gonna want to talk to me before I leave so I’ll let her know where I got it,” Rio offered up. “Maybe she can get you a couple for your birthday or something.”

“I’d like that,” Sadie said, smiling at him before glancing over at the house. “I should probably go inside.”

The two of them grabbed their things and stood up. He waved off the chocolate when she tried to give it back. Instead, he nudged her shoulder a little when she didn’t move towards the house. “Remember… be loud.”

Sadie gave a small, determined nod. Rio smiled a little to himself. Even after only a short period of time with her, he could tell she would pull it off, that she would make them listen to her. He knew a lot of kids went through the kind of worry Sadie was going through but he also knew damn well that they shouldn’t have to.

He held his fist out. She bumped hers against it before finally heading towards the house. He followed on close behind but instead of going in with her, he kept going and climbed into his car, driving away before Beth or anyone could come out and see him.

* * *

 

The next day, Rio swung by Beth’s house around lunchtime after texting her to make sure she was in. When he pulled up and came around to the back door, she was in the garden, sat on the picnic bench. He wandered over to her and placed two, large brown bags on the table.

She stared, slightly open-mouthed at the bags before peering inside. Her confusion only increased as she looked back at him. “Are those… _clothes?_ ”

“For Sadie.”

Her eyes narrowed a little, her confusion deepening. “Excuse me?”

Rio sat down across from her and pulled out one of the shirts, holding it up. It was a maroon one. Slightly different from his but close enough. “She said she liked mine so I got her one.”

“You bought all of these?” Beth no longer looked confused, just a little unsure. “Why?”

“She wanted one.” He shrugged before putting the shirt back. “I had to guess the size right enough but they should all fit. It’s all above board but I know a guy so they’re good quality but don’t cost too much.”

“But you only met her yesterday, why would you?”

“I felt for the kid. No one deserves that.” He motioned to the bags. “Plus, it’s not exactly breaking the bank.” As Beth continued to stare, he tilted his head a little. “You gonna keep looking at me like that?”

Beth blinked a few times and looked away. “Sorry. I just…” Her eyes found his again. “I’m just surprised. This is a really nice thing to do.”

He smirked. “I am capable.”

She laughed a little. “I guess I’m still not used to it. But… Thank you. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.”

“Did she say what she wanted to happen?”

Beth nodded a little. “She wants to see them all regularly. She doesn’t want to have to pick. I think she’ll continue to live with Annie but no one is going to tell her who she can and can’t see out of the three of them.”

“That’s good,” Rio said, nodding his head a little as he stood up. He knew she could pull it off. “Make sure she gets those, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Beth agreed. She stood up as well and grabbed the bags. “What exactly did you say to her last night?”

Rio shrugged a little as he began to walk away. Before he got too far, he looked back. “I just listened and made sure that she knew her voice was important.” With a small smile, he kept on walking before Beth could say anything more.

**Author's Note:**

> Funnily enough my first ever Good Girls fic involved Sadie and Rio interacting for the first time... I just really want them to interact on the show okay ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


End file.
